A HUGE superstorm born from TWO massive Atlantic hurricanes is set to rip into Britain NEXT week and bring weather hell to the UK.

Violent gales and torrential downpours will bring chaos across the country with power and transport networks facing severe disruption.

The latest weather models show Hurricanes Lee and Maria - currently located off the east coast of the United States - merging in the mid-Atlantic Ocean to form a colossal new storm.

In the past 24 hours Lee has been upgraded by the US National Hurricane Centre from a Category 1 to a Category 3 hurricane. Latest GFS tracks released this morning show the projected path of the newly formed storm hitting the UK early next week.

The NOAA NHC's latest update forecasts that Maria has gained in strength again and is now back as a Category 1 hurricane. The merged new storm will near the west coast of Ireland by Sunday evening.

Meteorologists fear an extremely violent post-tropical cyclone - which could be named Storm Brian once it develops - will form and head straight for the UK.

The current projected path of the storm shows it making landfall next Monday, with the churning vortex smashing first into Ireland, then mainland Britain.

Britons should brace themselves for “a bang” according to experts who warn the nation faces “significant” disruption.

Currently Lee is whipping up 100mph winds off the coast of North America hot on the heels of Maria which is about to clip North Carolina.

Maria will be the first to make a northeastwards turn towards the UK tomorrow afternoon.

UK superstorm Ex-Maria: Latest Models

Latest models show Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Lee to merge and strike into the UK.

Storm Brian warning: The two hurricanes are set to converge and smash into Britain

At 10pm BST the National Hurricane Center said Lee “should turn to the north Thursday and accelerate to the northeast on Friday.”

The NHC said Lee’s maximum sustained winds remained near 115mph with hurricane-force winds extending up to 35 miles.

The 7am NOAA BST advisory said Maria is moving north at 5mph and was last located about 145 miles off the North Carolina on the US East Coast.

Maria currently has maximum sustained winds near 70mph but some slight weakening is forecast before a potential convergence with Hurricane Lee at the weekend.

At 4am BST, the NHC update said Hurricane Lee was last located about 570 miles east-southeast of Bermuda.

It was moving west at 9mph but is expected to swing around and begin heading northeast through the Atlantic within the next two days.

Lee currently has sustained winds of 110mph, making it category 2. The hurricane will turn into a major category 3 hurricane today before weakening begins tomorrow.

Jim Dale, forecaster for British Weather Services, said megastorm caused by Maria and Lee coming together could give rise to the UK’s second named storm of the season.

He said: “Both hurricanes are located around the northeast coast of America but we expect them to get together around Sunday.

“The jet stream is powering up and as it swings southwards towards the end of the week it will help steer the remnants of these storms towards us.

“Both of these are powerful systems and when they get caught up in the jet stream they could be given more life.”

Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Lee will get together around Sunday. The jet stream is powering up and it will help steer the remnants of these two storms towards the UK

Jim Dale, forecaster for British Weather Services

Meteorologists are keeping a very close eye on developments over ocean waters and the track of the jet stream over the next few days.

Mr Dale added: “We do have the potential for major winds next week. A significant October storm is not out of the question.

“It is likely we will see severe gales, perhaps not right across the whole country, but certainly one to watch.”

Hurricane Lee and Maria are expected to join early on Thursday before hurtling across the Atlantic towards the UK.

The US National Hurricane Center issued a revised forecast warning that Hurricane Maria would turn east-northeastward towards Britain - and Lee - and accelerate within 48 hours.

It said hurricane-force winds currently extend outward up to 105 miles from the centre of Maria and tropical-storm-force winds up to 240 miles. Lee is smaller, with a hurricane force wind field of 15 miles and tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 45 miles.

NWS San Diego

Hurricane Maria is much bigger than Lee despite them being both Category 1

It's latest forecast warned that Lee remains a "small but impressive" hurricane with a well-defined eye on visible satellite images.

It said: "Further strengthening is possible for the next day or so while Lee continues moving over warm waters.

"Most of the guidance shows Lee getting a bit stronger, and the cyclone stands some chance of becoming a major hurricane within the next 24 hours or so.

"Later this week Lee should become absorbed [by Maria] in a large extratropical low over the northeastern Atlantic Ocean."

Lee and Maria are currently causing 75 to 105mph in the Atlantic. Latest ECM TC tracks also show both hurricanes are expected to head East North East.

WX Charts tweeted: "The GFS again showing remnants of #Maria and #Lee combining with an extra-tropical low and heading towards the British Isles by Sunday.

"GFS staying consistent with #Maria and #Lee both getting swept up by a low tracking ENE from Newfoundland. The vorticity associated with #Maria and #Lee is traceable all the way in to France and northern Spain."

Weather forecaster Jim Cantore said: "Lee is firing up and trying to meet up with Maria before they both take off for a trip and transition on the way to Europe."

WXCharts

Latest GFS graphs show the path of Lee and Maria combining to form a new storm which will hit the UK

Maria and Lee are expected to make an extratropical transition by combining with low pressure in the Atlantic later heading toward the UK by Sunday.

Maria is still much bigger in size than Lee despite both being Category One hurricanes however wind speeds are at similar levels in both.

Both are forecast to make an abrupt northeastwards turn later this week before Maria engulfs Lee to form a new, major storm.

This will give rise to one deep low pressure system which, helped by the jet stream, will then hurtle towards the west coast of Britain.

WXCHARTS

Latest charts show the two hurricanes merging and then storming in the UK

Eleanor Bell, forecaster for The Weather Company, said: “We expect Maria to curve back over the Atlantic before joining with Lee and forming one deep low pressure system.

“The latest models are showing a significant low moving across the UK next Monday bringing some very wet and windy conditions.

“It is going be a very unsettled period of weather for the UK.

“It is difficult at this early stage to say where will see the most impact, and while everywhere is likely to see something, we think the north and the west will be most unsettled.

“Nowhere is really going to escape the wind and rain, and we are looking at gale-force winds.”

The impact from Monday’s assault threatens to unleash a worse assault than Storm Aileen which struck mid-September.

While there was some disruption including loss of power and transport delays, the impact was less severe than first thought.

US NHC

The latest Storm Brian path according to the US National Hurricane Center

NOAA

Hurricane Lee path: Latest released from the NOAA

It will be a shock to the system to many in the UK after the relatively calm, settled and unusually warm start to autumn.

While stirring up gales this side of the Atlantic, the remnants of the storms will also drag a swath of warm air across the UK.

Temperatures are expected to start creeping up at the beginning of next week although it will feel cool in the wind and rain, experts say.

Worrying forecasting models project the storm system rapidly deepening before hitting the west coast of Britain next Monday.

Brian will be named as the second storm of the season if the likely impacts are deemed by the Met Office to be severe enough.

Britain and the US have separate systems for naming autumn storms, so when Maria and Lee reach the UK as one storm they will be re-named Brian.

ECMWF

The latest ECMWF weather models show the two hurricanes colliding and heading for Britain

The Met Office said with one week to ago before the remnants of both system are due to hit the UK, the impact is still uncertain.

Potential effects of Maria on the UK will be "very different from those experienced in the Caribbean" the Met Office said, but added people can expect wind and rain in many areas later this weekend and into next week

Meteorologists have been monitoring the progression of Hurricanes Maria and Lee in the Atlantic and any likely impact they may have on UK weather.

Spokesman Grahame Madge said: “Some of the model outputs are suggesting the hurricanes may merge to form a new depression in the Atlantic.

“There are also various predictions of the track it will take, so there is still much uncertainty at this stage."

Getty

Hurricane Maria has already caused widespread devastation in the Caribbean

He added: “However, if the two systems merge, they will bring air of tropical origin into the north Atlantic giving energy to low pressure systems closer to the UK.

“Putting warm, tropical air into these serves to modify them and this happens there is the potential for rising humidity and winds in the UK.”

Britain’s largely settled weather over the past few weeks has been driven by a huge area of high pressure stretching across Europe from Russia.

This is expected to start weakening over the next few days opening the doors to stormy conditions from the Atlantic.